1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fibrous solid carbon manifold assembly which can be applied to a wide technical field such as field-emission electron sources (specifically, needles of electron guns), various gas adsorbing materials, electrode materials for batteries, superfine cushioning materials, superfine elastic materials, and so on, and a method for producing the fibrous solid carbon manifold assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional needle of a field-emission electron gun or the like was provided as one piece. For this reason, the needle of the electron gun was obliged to be exchanged for a new one when the needle was damaged in use.
JP-A-2001-2290806 has proposed a material used as a field-emission electron source and including: a metallic substrate containing a metal such as iron as a main component serving as a core on which nanotube-like fiber of carbon will be produced; a large number of through-holes formed in the metallic substrate; and a film of carbon nanotube-like fiber formed on surfaces of the metal substrate and on circumferential walls of the through-holes. Methods for producing such carbon nanotube-like fiber have been proposed in JP-A-2000-203820, JP-A-2000-327317, JP-A-2001-48510, etc.
The aforementioned material having carbon nanotube-like fiber grown on surfaces of a metallic substrate has various excellent properties.